


of simplicity and fortitude

by starbirthed



Series: Johzenji Strong [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Original Character(s), also this is going to be terushima-focused, and I want to also focus and develop Terushima Yuuji, as in I want more stories about Johzenji, as in Teru's family and his classmates are original, i'm just a johzenji enthusiast so here we are, i'm rambling omg i'm sorry, idk what else to tag this in ?, in case u didn't know, so I'm making it myself, this is purely self centered
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 19:09:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13347630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starbirthed/pseuds/starbirthed
Summary: terushima yuuji was never one to do things half-assed. so, if he was going to rebel against his parents, he was gonna go all out. tongue piercing and all. he was going to start his second year of high school with a bang, showing everyone and anyone that terushima yuuji was a force of energy not to be messed with. that he couldn't be controlled. that he was freedom incarnate and no one could change that. he was the rebel with a cause.joining the johzenji volleyball club, though? definitely wasn't apart of his plan. but hey, since when did terushima ever stick to his original plans? never. that's when.





	of simplicity and fortitude

**Author's Note:**

> hello all! the name is aries and this is going to be my first, major work on this account! i am a huge lover of johzenji. i fell in love with them the minute they were introduced. most importantly, i fell in love with their captain: terushima yuuji. i craved more info, moments, and time with the boys. but alas, they haven't been seen since. i'm DRY I TELL YOU ! THIRSTY FOR MORE OF THESE BOYS AND WHAT THEIR LIVES ARE LIKE! so, because i have no self control i decided _why don't i write it myself_. so. here we are. this is going to be a collection, with the first part focusing on terushima's second year when he just joined the volleyball club. i plan to develop these characters, their lives, etc. so yeah. please enjoy this journey lmao.

Terushima wasn’t a morning person. Not much of a shocker considering he had no concept, or  _ respect _ , for time. Waking up in the morning was a process. He’d wake up to his alarm only to turn it off and sleep in another fifteen minutes. He would miss school  _ entirely  _ if Bobata didn’t come into his room every morning to drag his ass out of bed. Because best friends did that for one another. 

“I’m going to start charging you for this,” Terushima yawned and Bobata rolled his eyes. “How late did you stay up playing video games, huh?”

Terushima began to pick up clothes from the floor, trying to find a shirt that didn’t smell too bad. He grabbed a white one and sniffed, “Ugh yeah no.” he balled it up and threw it into his hamper. “Uh like, a couple of hours? I dunno what time does the sun start to rise—?”

“You’re a mess dude!” Bobata flopped onto Terushima’s bed, pulling out his phone to play some games while Terushima got ready. This was  their daily routine. It started with Terushima being dangerously close to oversleeping until Bobata swooped in to get his ass in gear. Terushima always took  _ extra  _ time getting ready because, if they were to be real, neither one really had the desire to go to school. But they went anyways because Futamata would beat their asses collectively if they didn’t. Again, just best friend things.

“I mean you’re  _ not  _ wrong,” Terushima pulled on a shirt that didn’t smell like ass and pulls on his blazer. He refused to put on the mandatory tie on principle. Ties were a representation of capitalism and oppression! Two things Terushima would  _ never  _ support. “I’m a  _ hot  _ mess, though.” he added in with a wink

Bobata snorted, “Unbelievable. That’s what you are.” Terushima walked over and stood in front of Bobata, backpack hanging off one shoulder. Bobata reached a hand out and urged Terushima to bend down. “Lemme take a look at your hair real quick.”

Terushima’s was going through a metamorphosis. Changing his appearance and dynamics and well, his entire being. A revolution was in process. As Terushima bent he suddenly felt awkward. And he hated it. His transformation was complete now with his hair cut. His natural hair was dark brown. However yesterday, on impulse, Terushima had went to get it cut, styled, and  _ dyed _ . Now he was rocking a blond undercut that became the cherry on top for his new look. Coupled with his earrings that he got pierced over a week ago and his tongue ring that he got done the same day, Terushima looked like a fully bonafide delinquent.

Which was  _ fine _ . Delinquent was what he was going for.

Bobata’s hands fell to his hair and carded through Teru’s hair. Teru shut his eyes, stomping down his awkwardness to enjoy the careess. “Mmm, stop that. I might jump you.” Terushima purred.

“Shut up, idiot.” Bobata was having none of Terushima’s shit. Teru laughed, “It feels soft,” Bobata continued his petting slowed. “How’d your parents react?” his voice got quiet. Terushima tensed.

But the tension didn’t last. He was smiling shortly after, standing up straight so they could get a move on. And push through the discomfort of talking about his parents in any way shape or form. “They haven’t seen it yet.” Both his parents were off on a business trip. Nothing too uncommon in the Terushima household. He wasn’t looking forward to their return. But he  _ was  _ looking forward to their reactions once they saw his hair. They would be utterly disappointed and filled with resentment. Terushima could practically see it on their faces now. “Come on, man. Let’s go. I feel like Takeharu’s gonna call us any minute now—”

His phone started going off just as he mentioned their other friend’s name. Bobata threw his head back and cackled while Terushima got his phone. The two were heading out the door as Futamata’s screeching rattled Terushima’s ears. “ _ How long do you plan on making me wait!? _ ” Futamata yelled.

Futamata was the final piece to their trio. He lived closer to their school so he would wait up for the two at school. Bobata had been Teru’s friend for years but Futamata had joined their duo in middle school. They all ended up attending the same high school, Johzenji because the three musketeers could  _ never  _ be separated. Such a fate was unacceptable. The three got into so many hijinks the teachers stopped attempting to discipline them. They acted like a domino effect: if one person was going to do something  _ fuckinig stupid _ , you better believe the other two weren’t far behind.

Bobata’s laughter carried as they walked down the street for the train. “Uh, we just put on our clothes.” Terushima covered his mouth to hold back his laughter, moving it away from the phone to shot a look at Bobata. Bobata was snickering along with him, shaking his head.

“Oi! Yuuji! Let’s just stay home today! I’m already tired!” Bobata played along, hitching his voice higher than usual.

“Hmmm, Kazu~” Teru pretended to contemplate the idea. “That sounds like a good plaj. I was gonna rage play after school but why wait till then? I could just rage play  _ now  _ and skip school all together! You in?”

“Oh I’m so in.”

“ _ You’re both dumb as shit. You’re already at the train station, aren’t you _ ?” Futamata wasn’t buying their shit and rightfully so. He had to deal with the dynamic duo’s antics all last year. He was immune to their nonsense.

Terushima and Bobata broke out into laughter while they entered the train station. Businessmen, students, and citizens walked haphazardly throughout the station. “Yeah, how’d you know?” Terushima asked through laughter.

“ _ Because you’re idiots who aren’t that hard to figure out. Can you just hurry up? I’m hiding out in the convenience store a few blocks away from school and I refuse to walk in late without my squad! _ ”

“Yeah yeah yeah, we’re coming soon. Bobata! Say goodbye to our child!” Terushima held up the phone and Bobata took it, making kissy noises into the receiver.

“Daddy loves you so much we’ll see you soon son!”

“Oh sweetheart,” Terushima cooed, pinching Bobata’s face as they boarded the train. “You’re gonna embarrass him in front of  _ all  _ his friends.”

“ _ I HATE YOU BOTH GOODBYE! _ ”

Terushima was met with the angry beeping of an ended phone call. Him and Bobata exchanged glances before breaking out into laughter. They were dumb. But they were  _ dumb funny together  _ and that was the best kind of funny to be.

 

/

 

He expected staring. Terushima walked down the halls with his hands in his pockets and his head held tall. As he did, he attempted to pay no mind to the whispers and the pointing from his classmates. Blond hair and piercings were a sure sign of defiance. He knew  _ very  _ well how much he was deviating from the norm with his decision. In the moment, he didn’t give a fuck. Terushima was impulsivity incarnate. He went with his gut first and listened to his head later. He rarely, if at all, experienced regret. Or rather, he didn’t linger long enough on the negative attention to let regret seep into his bones and weigh them down.

Girls stared or moved out of his way as he walked down the hall. Guys tensed, not knowing if they should pick a fight or prepare for a fight. Terushima already had a reputation for being wild. He did what he wanted, when he wanted. But changing his appearance was apparently the last straw for some people. Too  _ bold.  _

He walked into his class five minutes late, sliding the door open as his teacher was going through attendance. He ignored the weird ache in his stomach and slapped on his usual, shit-eating smile.

“Mornin’, sensei~! You’re wearing the green suit again? I keep tellin’ ya it doesn’t go with your eyes!” the whispers came again. Some were heated. They asked what he was doing and what the  _ fuck  _ went wrong. Others were envious, commenting how bold of a choice it was to dye his hair blond. He was used to it. He  _ expected  _ this.

The very same thing happened when he pierced his ears. And when people found out his tongue was pierced too? God, he remembered sitting in the teacher’s office for  _ hours  _ getting lectured about how appearance was everything and he practically felt his soul astral project out of his body to Pluto.

Keiichi, his teacher, looked annoyed. Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his hands on his hips as Terushima lazily strolled into class towards his seat. “Late again I see, Yuuji-san. Rather than sharing unnecessary comments about my fashion, which is  _ great  _ mind you.”

“Lol yeah okay,” Terushima said  _ just  _ loud enough for the few people around him to hear. The class laughed and he felt energized. He loved this. Loved causing a scene and seeing the reactions he earned afterwards. He was  _ such _ an attention whore and he wasn’t even ashamed to admit it.

“But you’re late!” Keiichi-sensei pressed, scowl deepening. “Consistently, for the fifth time this week. Which is unacceptable. Therefore, meet me in my office after school.”

Terushima acted as if he hadn’t just heard his teacher’s rant. Perking up delayed a few seconds after. Eyes widened and mouth opened in feigned shock, “Oh what? Sorry I zoned out.”  Terushima bit back on his grin as laughter broke out and his teacher’s glare turned  _ deadly _ . Boy … if looks could kill. But Terushima felt so  _ satisfied _ .

Sure, maybe Terushima should down the sass a bit.  Give his teacher a chance to, well  _ teach _ . But Terushima was feeling so antsy. He blamed the staring and whispers from earlier. The negative attention, though he  _ loved  _ attention and swallowed it up greedily with every chance he got, grated on his nerves more so than he thought they would. He bounced his leg up and down as his teacher continued with class, taking the high road by ignoring him. Terushima snorted.

His teacher was going to get his excess snark to balance the universe out. Such was how the world was going to play out. Class went on without much issues. As time passed people cared less about giving glances and more about their schoolwork. Great, for Terushima! Who could turn his attention to the window because he couldn’t pay a lick of attention for longer than five minutes. Especially on  _ boring  _ content. Terushima would rather wax his legs then sit through fifty minutes reading some dead guy’s poetry who was  _ severely  _ caught in his feelings. He’d just get notes from someone later. Maybe from Mimi-chan. She was cute, and they normally flirted a lot during lunch. So he could hit two birds with one stone easy peesy.

 

/

 

Thank God lunch had finally rolled around. Terushima looked down at his notebook. Rather than having taken notes on the math problems they learned, his book was  _ filled  _ with designs for characters, monsters, anything his mind could think of. He held up his book with a childish-like pride. “Man, Terushima your a Picasso in the making!”

“What’s that, Teru-kun?” Ah, it was Mimi-kun! Terushima lowered his book and in front of him was Yoshida Mimi. They’ve shared classes before their first year of high school. They clicked immediately, Terushima liking her carefree attitude and Mimi liking his no-strings-attached mentality. They hooked up quite a bit last year, and some more continuing into the new school year as well. She was beautiful, in Terushima’s eyes.

Her black curls bounced, framing her round face. Whatever mascara she wore was magical because it made her eyelashes look ten times longer and curlier than what they should have been. And, Terushima’s eyes immediately went to her cleavage and a goofy grin curled on his lips. She had great breasts too.

“Oi! Teru-kun, my eyes are up here.” but there was no venom in her voice. Another thing he digged about this girl was her super chill personality. Any other girl would have slapped him sideways but not Mimi! A true ride or die she was, in Terushima’s eyes. “And you didn’t answer my question.”

“Haha, sorry Mimi-chan. Got distracted,” he stuck out his tongue, leering. but it dissolved into laughter shortly after as Mimi huffed and pulled up a chair to sit by his desk. He laid down his notebook, hands splayed at the ends as he proudly displayed his newest work. “It’s another masterpiece! I title it,  _ Aliens vs Dinosaurs _ !” he pointed at a T-rex covered in armor holding a sword, facing off against a three-headed alien with a flaming gun. Terushima pointed, “See see! The Aliens have come trying to colonize the Dinosaurs but the Dinosaurs are like  _ fuck that and you man  _ so they’re defending their land!”

Excitement danced through his voice as he rattled off to Mimi more of his story. Mimi laughed, resting her cheek in the palm of her hand. “You’re really talented, ya know? Oh, oh! Draw me next!”

“Hmmmm, maybe~” he didn’t comment on the talented part. He leaned closer, lowering his voice in her ear. “Like a … nude portrait?”

“Ewwww, gross! What foul things are you whispering about during lunch time?” A book dropped onto Terushima’s head. Mimi laughed and Teru stuck his tongue out, caught in the act but not even a least bit ashamed. Bobata, who had dropped the book, stared back with little to no amusement. Though Terushima wouldn’t be fooled. He  _ knew  _ that bastard was smirking underneath his fake deadpan.

Futamata was standing behind him, lips pulled up in a grimace. “Why are you like this?” and then he saw Terushima’s notebook and laughed, “Nice notes you got there, dude. What subject ya’ll working on?”

“This is my masterpiece!” Terushima would put more energy defending his artwork than his own reputation ten times over. “Besides, Mimi-chan was gonna gimmie her notes to copy, right?” he batted his eyelashes and Mimi hummed.

“Maybe~ Depends what I get in return,” her foot rubbed against her leg and the two shared a secretive smile. Futamata gagged and Bobata scoffed, reaching out to grab Terushima by the back of his collar. He gave him a good tug, dragging him up by his feet.  “Enough out of you two. Save the nasty for elsewhere! If you keep flirting like this they’re gonna run out of weiner pan,” Bobata said.

He didn’t really have to say anything more after that. Terushima was already halfway out the door, running in place as he waited for his friends to catch up. “Oi! Ya’ll gonna stand there or are we  _ gonna make moves _ ?”

“I hate him,” Futamata sighed. Mimi laughed, moving back to her group of friends now that Terushima was gone like the wind. They heard distant sounds of gasps, screams, and laughter. The general reaction to a wild Terushima on the loose.

“Yeah, same.” Bobata huffed but they were both grinning as they ran after him.

They found Terushima flirting it up with the lunch lady. Who was significantly older than the three of them combined but  _ age never stopped Terushima _ . He was chatting her up, asking about her day, trying to finesse extra weiner pans. Everyday he tired to get three instead of one and everyday he failed. But today could be different!

“Come on! Pleaaaaaaaaase!” he whined, laying his body dramatically against the counter. “I’m a growing boy! I’ll starve!”

“I doubt that,” the lunch lady laughed. Bobata and Futamata came just in time to see Terushima throw a fit over being rejected. Again. “Now none of this whining! I tell you the same thing I tell everyone else: you can have extras if there are  _ leftovers _ .”

“Leftovers? In this economy?” Terushima threw his hands in the air, ready to cause a scene. Bobata and Futamata slipped in underneath his raised arms, snatching their own meals and resting them on their trays. They also got a meal for Terushima. Who, no doubt, forgot to get his main one while he was trying to schmooze the lunch lady over a piece of bread.

“Hey, hey, there’s a line ya goon.” Bobata nudged Terushima with his shoulder.

“But!”

“Let’s goooooo!” Futamata led the fray and the three fell in line as they exited the lunchroom. Their go to spot for lunch was the rooftop. Off limits to students but Futamata had  _ excellent  _ lock picking skills and could get into the rooftop with ease.

The three took their seats on the roof, springtime sunlight shining cooly upon them. The weather was nice. There was a light breeze that made it cool, but not so cold that it was unpleasant. Clouds lazily strolled above their heads , thin and airy.

Terushima took a large bite into his bread as Bobata said, “So your costume change is a big discussion in my class. Well, amongst the girls anyways.”

The blond raised an eyebrow, swallowing, “Why can’t people mind their own business?”

“It’s funny how you act like you’re bothered,” Futamata smirked.

“I am!” a bit, kind of, more so than he’d let on. But also not, at the same time. Because the change was what he wanted. He  _ actively  _ seeked to make a ripple, a disturbance. Just, not from his peers. “Don’t they have something more important to talk about? Like the latest episode of Super Sentai!” another angry bite of his bread, “Now  _ that’s  _ discourse material.”

“Nerd,” Bobata snorted.

“Geek,” Futamata followed suit.

“Shut up!”

“Anyways!” Bobata laid on his back, looking up at the sky. “What do you guys wanna do after school?”

“Hmmm, arcade? We still gotta break the tie between you and Teru on Street Fighter.” Futamata offered.

“Ooo, that’s an idea,” Bobata hummed.

“I gotta meet with my teacher after school.” Terushima jammed his straw into his juice box and slurped, “Apparently my comment on their whack fashion sense was  _ uncalled for  _ and  _ necessary for reprimand. _ ” Terushima used air quotes around uncalled for and necessary for reprimand. “But jokes on them! Cause  _ I’m  _ not going.”

“A true rebel with a cause,” Bobata snickered.

“Oi! Can you not come for my neck for like two minutes you little—!” and thus a fight broke out between the two. Like clockwork, their lunches surrounded a two-v-one drag session with the one lone ranger inciting a full out brawl. Terushima had Bobata gripped by the collar, Futamata snapchatting it all, when his phone buzzed.

“Pause!” Terushima, still gripping onto Bobata’s shoulder, pulled out his phone. ONE NEW MESSAGE flashed on the screen. When he opened it and read the message his eyes lit up. “Oh fuck yes!” he typed out his response, his eyes a lit with excitement.

Bobata rested his chin on Teru’s shoulder, peering at his phone. “Oh, it’s from your uncle?”

Terushima’s uncle was perhaps, one of Terushima’s favorite human beings to ever walk the earth. They met once a month, sometimes even more, on the weekends to hang out. He was Terushima’s saving grace on multiple occasions. “Yeah! He just confirmed our plans for this weekend. Ah, I’m so hyped!”

“You’re gonna come back with more fox things, aren’t you?” Bobata teased, flicking the little fox charm that dangled from Terushima’s phone.

Teru sniffed, “They’re cute!”

“For now, until you find something new to obsess over.” Futamata said. “Speaking of obsession, what’s up with you and Yoshida?”

“Noooothin,” Terushima drawled. His phone buzzed again, a new message from his uncle. Then one more time, but it was a message from a girl in the neighboring class. He grinned, saving that text for later. Flirting was, of course, all about the reactions and Terushima learned rather quickly in his debauchery that keeping a good distance always made the heart grow fonder. “We’re still foolin’ around, if that’s what you mean.”

“She has such a thing for you dude,” Bobata shook his head. “It’s a damn shame she’s being wasted on you! Mr. Can’t Handle a Stable Relationship.”

“Mr. Doesn’t Date Anyone for More than Three Days,” Futamata added.

“Mr. Doesn’t Believe in Love,” Bobata grinned.

“Mr. Says he Doesn’t Believe in Love but is Actually the Biggest Hopeless Romantic of all—”

“OKAY SHUT UP I GET IT!” Terushima’s neck grew hot and he threw punches at both Futamata’s and Bobata’s shoulders. “You guys are the worst.”

“True,” they said at the same time.

“Just because ya’ll are jealous.”

Bobata snorted. Futamata gave him the  _ dead  _ eyes and Terushima flipped them off. And like that, they fell into casual routine. Finishing their lunches up as the bell rang. But the sound didn’t rush them one bit. They always took their time getting back to classes. Usually because they were fucking around for so long they lost time. Five minutes after the bell rang they finally made their move. The game plan was to meet by the shoe lockers after school and head to the arcade. Invite some girls along and then maybe finish the night with some karaoke. The later they stayed out, the better.

 

/

 

Classes were over and Terushima’s brain sighed in sweet relief. He had no idea what his history teacher spoke about for the last fifty minutes but he could only assume it was something boring and not worth his time. He yawned, leaning back on his chair as the sound of desks being pushed back and chairs being moved echoed in the background. Terushima should stay for cleaning, but then he remembered about his meeting after school. Fuck.

“Oi! Class Rep Izumi!” a brown haired teen with thick, black glasses turned around. “Can you do me a favor?”

Izumi sighed, “I already feel myself aging five years…”

“Aw, love nugget. That’s so sweet. I didn’t know I had such an effect on you~”

“What is it that you want, Terushima-san?” Izumi folded his arms and Terushima grinned, all lazy and catlike.

“Will you—?”

“No I’m not taking your cleaning duties.” Izumi shook his head and went back to moving his desk. Terushima whined, getting up from his feet and walking over to Izumi. Izumi yelped as Terushima’s arms wrapped around his middle, his nose pressing into his shoulder.

“Pleaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaase!”

“Terushima’s begging?” Nico, their other classmate, laughed. “God Terushima where’s your dignity?”

“Um, at home?” he grinned against Izumi’s shoulder, noticing the red that flushed on his neck.  _ Ooo _ , he blew air against his neck, watching the hair stand up. Izumi’s reaction was priceless! He dropped his desk and turned around, fixing Terushima with a glare. He was shaking, entire face red, and Terushima was  _ cackling _ , holding his hands by his sides.

“Class Rep, red is such a—such a good color on you—” he wiped at the tears forming in his eyes and went to grab his bag. “So I can leave my clean up duties to you, yeah?”

“What—?”

“ — Thanks a million dude!” Terushima patted Izumi’s cheek and bolted out the door before he Izumi had a chance to complain. He snickered, another excellent escape by none other than Terushima! As he darted down the hall people turned to wave at him. Apparently, a day was enough time for people to get used to his change. Good. He waved back at them, his phone buzzing. No doubt getting messages from his group chat with Bobata and Futamata.

“Terushima!” his teacher slid back the door Terushima just ran by, hands on his hips. “Where do you think you are going? We have a meeting right now, remember?”

“Right now?” Terushima jogged in place  at the end of the hallway, “Mmm, maybe tomorrow? Tomorrow works better for me, ya know? Cause time’s a social construct after all and I’ve got plans so, bye!” and he’s off, darting down the hall. He heard footsteps and when he looked over his shoulder he saw his teacher hot on his heels.

_ Damn, for someone in their mid thirties they can really haul ass. _

Terushima ran at full speed down the hallway, cackling all the while. He turned around a corner, jumping onto the railing of the stairs so he could slide down. “And he sticks the landing!” he posed in front of a group of girls who were standing at the bottom of the staircase. Most of them clapped. One just raised her eyebrow at Terushima, unimpressed.

“Were you not amazed the first time? Should I do it again?” he teased, ready to do it  _ again  _ when he heard the teacher’s voice. “Okay another time! Bye girls!” he stumbled a bit before booking it down the hall and outside.

Johzenji’s campus was pretty big. They had two main buildings that connected with an archway. Johzenji looked the  _ best  _ in autumn, when the leaves were changing. There were so many trees that were planted around campus, some people considered it a forest more so than anything else. Johzenji was best known for their academics, above else, which was why they had two buildings dedicated to academics. Terushima couldn’t escape to the western building, where other classes were held. The teachers would rat him out immediately.

So he went for the gym, which was one of the smaller buildings on campus. With any luck, he could hide in there for a few minutes until the coast was clear and then text his friends that he was safe and sound and ready for debauchery. He slipped into the gym, panting and ran for the nearest hiding spot: the storage room. Thankfully, no —luckily—the door was unlocked. So he slipped inside without a hitch. He hid behind one of the jumping boards and waited.

A few minutes passed before he decided to check his phone. “Dammit! No bars,” he couldn’t even send a  _ hey guys the teacher’s got it out for me so if I die Bobata, you get my games and Futamata you get… all my love  _ text. “I’ll just dip then,” he went to stand up when the door opened. Jumping, he’s expecting it to be the teacher who sniffed him out with their greyhound nose.

Instead, it’s some dude with a buzzcut he’s never seen before. And by his side was, probably, one of the prettiest girls Terushima had ever seen. He blinked. They stared back. Terushima immediately assumed they were staring at him because of his appearance, and he bristled. Ready for a fight when Buzzcut spoke up.

“You here for tryouts?” he smiled softly, but there was a hint of excitement mixed with anticipation in his eyes that made Terushima feel… odd. Terushima was not… expecting that.

“Uh—” words, use your  _ words _ . “No I—” there’s movement outside. He heard voices. The squeaking of sneakers against gymnasium floors. And above them all, he heard the voice of his teacher. He tensed again. Buzzcut and Pretty Brunette shared looks before Terushima heard the teacher’s voice grow closer. He gasped and ducked back down behind his hiding spot.

“Hey you two,” Keiichi wiped the sweat from his brow, fanning himself. “Have you seen, have you seen a student go by here? Blond hair? Piercings?”

Terushima’s heart flew up to his throat. They were gonna rat him out. He felt it in his bones. That soft smile be _damned._ All they had to do was mention seeing him and he was—

“Nope,” Buzzcut said. “Sorry, sensei.”

“If he comes by we’ll let you know,” Pretty Brunette followed.

The teacher disappeared. Buzzcut turned his gaze back to Terushima who was rising up again now that the coast was clear. Surprise colored Terushima’s face. He didn’t even bother to hide it.

“What? You thought we were going to rat you out or something?” rather than sounding offended, Buzzcut actually looked amused.

“Yes. 100% absolutely definitely,” his response came with little to no hesitation.

Pretty Brunette, God he needed to know her name out of principle, crossed her arms. “Just like you to not leave a stranger in need, Seiji-san.” she sighed, casting a glance over at Terushima. He winked in response and she scowled. “Even if they’re troublesome.”

“Trouble’s the new sexy, haven’t you heard?” Terushima maybe do less?

Buzzcut—no wait, his name was Seiji, laughed. “He’s funny, Hana-san. And he appeared just in time for tryouts. Which you’ll be staying for, right… ah, what’s your name?”

“Terushima Yuuji. And no! I won’t be staying for tryouts. I got a basketball game tomorrow and I’m running late for it so—Thanks for the offer!”

“Wait!” Seiji grabbed Terushima by the arm as he walked by, releasing when Teru shot him a look. “Ah, sorry. I—it would be a waste if you didn’t try out. Since you’re here after all.” 

“Me?” Teru raised an eyebrow, “Try out for volleyball? I’ve never played.”

“That’s fine!” Seiji smiled and Hana shot him a look. “Terushima-san, was it? I actually saw you running into our shed. You’re fast, and you look like you’re really athletic. You’d be a great asset to the team if you tried out.”

This was a joke, right? It had to be a joke. Terushima had never joined an organized sport before. But no, the look in Seiji’s eyes said he was  _ very  _ serious. Ah, his phone buzzed again in his pocket. He looked down and there were ten new messages from his group chat and a few messages from Mimi. He should go. He really should but.

He made the mistake of looking over his shoulder. The team was warming up with sets and spikes. He watched in utter fascination as the ball was set and a player ran up by the ride side, jumping in the air, and spiking it down the other side of the net with great force. The sound of the spike  _ resonated  _ with Terushima. He looked at the spikers jumping and suddenly, he wanted to do it to. It looked fun. And it was just for a few hours.

He turned back to Seiji and Hana, and Seiji was looking at him as if he already knew the answer. Terushima shrugged, feigning nonchalance even though the smile on his face was  _ pure  _ giddy excitement. “Yeah sure. Okay. You saved my ass back there so why not.” He’d try out today, at least to repay the favor. He’d also explain to Bobata and Futamata why he bailed, which they’d hopefully understand. And then tomorrow he’d get back into his routine of fuckery incarnate and avoid the gym at all costs so he didn’t have to go back the next day.

Yeah. That’d work.

“Awesome!” wow, Terushima winced from how bright Seiji’s smile was. He had one of those smiles that made you want to trust him with all your secrets and then some. He patted Terushima on the shoulder. “Let’s go get you a penny and a change of clothes.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> i would love love love to hear any comments you have on this fic, what you'd like to see, or any headcanons or thoughts you have on johzenji! feel free to hit me up here or at my tumblr [heavenbursts](heavenbursts.tumblr.com/) if you wanna chat!


End file.
